Trailer Trash

Mike Leigh seemed in smiling spirits when I bumped into him last week. This is an encouraging sign - usually it means he's got a good film under his belt. Indeed I learn that he's close to finishing his latest, still listed as 'untitled' on the web bible imdb.com. Well, I can tell you that it is called Happy-Go-Lucky and stars Sally Hawkins, the terrific young actress who's been on the verge of a breakthrough for a while now with her eyecatching performances in other Leigh works Vera Drake and All or Nothing. She's also lovely in Woody Allen's latest, Cassandra's Dream, which will be released here in April. Happy-Go-Lucky, a modern-day London-set comedy, is likely to start showing at about the same time. It would, I'm sure, be ready for a Cannes debut, but it remains to be seen if Leigh will ever deign to grace the Croisette again after they snubbed Vera Drake only for it to go on to win at Venice and scoop countless other awards.

Not Match of the Day

Stephen Frears has withdrawn from the highly anticipated film version of The Damned United, about Brian Clough's ill-fated 44-day tenure as Leeds manager in 1974. The film of David Peace's book was to have reunited Peter Morgan as scriptwriter, Frears as director and Michael Sheen as Cloughie: the trio's previous work includes The Deal before triumphing with last year's The Queen. Frears, however, has now been replaced by Tom Hooper. 'It was an amicable departure, unlike Clough's,' Stephen tells me. 'I loved the book but couldn't work the film out in my head. I realised I'd set out in pursuit of something that was leading me down a blind alley.' Peter Morgan has finished his first draft of the script and the film, produced by Christine Langan, will shoot next spring. 'I'm sure they'll do a wonderful job,' says Frears. 'I realised I was the problem and it was me that had to go. I can't wait to see Michael doing Clough,' he adds. 'I remember the day I first suggested the project to him and he rolled his eyes and burst into a wonderful impression.'

Washington heights

Denzel Washington was visiting London last week. He was working at the Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra recording the score to his latest film as director, The Great Debaters, about an all-black debating team that achieved international success. Did he walk over the famous Beatles zebra crossing? 'You bet I did,' he laughs. 'I was looking forward to doing that shit as soon as I found out I could record there.'